Full 3DCG animation film “GANTZ (tentative) ”

We popped in for an unscheduled interview with the original creator of GANTZ, Hiroya Oku, regarding the new 3DCG feature film.

“I’m looking forward to this more than anyone else on the planet!”

---- You’ve been drawing using CG since before even GANTZ, haven’t you?Oku: Right. It’s not so much pure CG, but rather than I put my drawing into the computer just to finish it off and give it the finishing touches. The background is also a hybrid of CG and actual images.

---- GANTZ is launched as a full 3DCG animation film. In the sense, doesn’t the work become closer to what you have been visualizing in your mind?Oku: Absolutely right! I watched a half-made of it, and it was precisely becoming super idealized screen images that I was imagining, which makes my expectation way too high.

---- So, GANTZ will be launched as a feature-length 3DCG animation film. So, given the way you have worked on things in the past, perhaps this is getting closer to what you had imagined was GANTZ in your mind?Oku: Absolutely! I was able to check out what had been made of the film thus far, and it was exactly as I’d imagined it; with the hyper-idealized images that felt like they’d been pulled straight from my head, and I have to say, it set my expectations through the roof!

---- So, does that mean you have visual, almost actual real-life images of the live action going on in your head when you were thinking of the manga?Oku: Yeah, basically; it’s pretty much live-action, and when I imagine a character’s face, it’s a real human in a live-action film; that’s pretty different from my manga, right? The 3DCG allows me take what I was imagining and upgrade from what I’d done in the manga version — I can really actualize the ideal form that I had in my imagination. And, as for the film this time around, I think the staff is still working on it simply because I keep coming at them saying that, “I’m the one that wants to see this more than anyone, so please keep it up!”

---- (laughs) So, did you have some feeling like, “Finally! Here we go!” when you heard about the new film project?Oku: When I first heard about it, I wondered what it would be like. I mean, I have watched various 3DCG movies and played many 3DCG games, so I thought that it’d be something akin to that. And then, I saw some in-progress bits of the film and was amazed, and thought, “I can’t believe that technology has taken us this far,” so it’s fair to say that I was astounded at the quality. I said, “Please, make it like this. Make it all like this!” (laughs) I’m pretty sure I’m looking forward to this more than anyone on the planet.

---- (laughs) Up until now, GANTZ has been both animated, as well as made into a live-action film This time you’re visualizing one of the episodes in the original manga, but how’d you go about picking which one?Oku: I received an offer from the production side. I wanted to make a request that we create something easy to get into, especially for those watching GANTZ for the first time. I had a look at the scenario, and I am pretty sure that it’s great for both veterans and those who have never seen GANTZ.

---- Though there are various movie iterations of GANTZ up until now, why do you think that people still want to see another iteration of GANTZ?Oku: I can’t say that for certain on everyone’s behalf, but I do love the GANTZ films. So, I have been drawing things that I thought might work out well for movie versions. This is the same when it comes to GANTZ, so perhaps it’s just set up perfectly for another visual, film iteration.